As it hits 90 degrees here in Tucson Arizona this week - it's the start of weekend trips up to Mt. Lemmon for many to get a break from the heat!

The home cabins built on Mt. Lemmon since the Aspen Fire of 2005 are beautiful and price ranges suit almost any budget!  Prior to the fires, the mountain was comprised of simple second homes - nothing fancy - many 40 to 50 years old with some upgrades and some - without!

Today, Mt. Lemmon looks a lot different - you'll still find rustic cabins that survived the fire but you'll also find newer small, quaint cabins all the way up to 4,000 square foot homes with four levels and garages!  Prices range from the high $300s all the way up to $3.3+ million. 

If you aren't interested in bearing the expense of maintaining a second home, you can buy a "share" of a cabin with some friends or family.  Currently there is "share" of a cabin up for sale for $140,000 - in a 2005 custom built 2 bedroom/2 bath over 1500 sq. ft. home in a terrific location!  Several cabins on Mt. Lemmon were either bought or built by combining family resources- making the year-round expense affordable. 

If you are interested in buying a lot, the prices range from $50,000 all the way to up to the high $600s.  Price depends on the type of land use, location, development, utilities available, etc.

Building costs on Mt. Lemmon vary and options today are worth checking in to! You can completely custom build a cabin home, or you can purchase a pre-built log cabin that is built right on site, or go the route of a modular cabin.  On average it costs about $150 - $300+ per square foot to build a custom home and can take up to a year or longer to build - depending upon the builder you chose.

A pre-built cabin home delivered to site can cost anywhere from $45,000 to $150,000+(additional costs are associated and depend upon which company you use, the floor plan as well as  the cost of the local contractor you select.) 

The pre-builts, depending upon your contractor, can be put up relatively fast - the one pictured to the left is 1600+ square feet, comes with two porches, and is a 3 bedroom, 2 bath with a loft and it took two months from foundation to roof to build.  The rest is being completed by the owner himself as a weekend project!

A modular cabin (one is pictured below) is the fastest and least expensive way to own a mountain retreat!  Just make sure the lot you purchase is suitable to the modular and that you work with a company that has experience with permits, foundations and utilities in this location.  There are several modular companies in and around Tucson and Sierra Vista that specialize in modular cabins with a variety of floor plans from as small as 500 square feet up to 3000.  This modular home on Mt. Lemmon is a 3 bedroom/2 bath just under 1000 square feet with a custom deck added on:

If you are ever on Mt. Lemmon, give me a call at 520.245.0242 - I do get phone service high atop the mountain - I may just be there and would love to meet you!

Gabrielle (Kamahele) Rhind - 2009. If you want to reprint parts of this - just email me for my permission rhindohana@msn.com. Buying or selling Tucson Arizona Real Estate? Click info@gabriellerhind.com and let me know how I can help you! Or visit www.BuyMyTucsonHome.com